Things get very interesting on the gridiron

Wednesday

Oct 30, 2013 at 11:52 PM

The forecast, as of right now, is for a 70 percent chance of rain Friday afternoon.

Jason Queen

The forecast, as of right now, is for a 70 percent chance of rain Friday afternoon.How appropriate. Because, when a handful of local high school football teams hit the field Friday night, they will look to clear up some muddy conference championship pictures.North Rowan and Thomasville will square off at Cushwa Stadium in what is essentially the Central Carolina Conference championship game. Yes, both teams have one more game on their regular-season schedules. But, the winner will emerge 4-0 and the other four CCC teams have at least two losses.This one should be a doozy. The Cavaliers, in their first year in 2-A after realigning up from 1-A, have crashed the party by crushing everyone. North Rowan has won its first three conference games handily.Thomasville presents a different challenge, however. Allen Brown has always believed his team's success started on defense, and this year's unit is no different. While the Bulldogs aren't undefeated, like the Cavaliers, they have taken flight since CCC play started. They made quick work of upstarts East Davidson and West Davidson, both of whom thought they had a shot at knocking off the perennial powerhouse.And why wouldn't they? As usual, Thomasville entered CCC play after a brutal nonconference schedule. But this year was different; Thomasville went 1-5 against that schedule, and didn't appear to have that edge they normally do.The Bulldogs shook off that notion right away, bullying West 33-6 to kick off a three-game win streak. Whoever walks away from Friday night's matchup with a win will have a world of confidence heading into the state playoffs.After North Davidson dismantled Reynolds in their Central Piedmont Conference mismatch Friday at Palmer Field, North coach Mark Holcomb said he told his team to play like it was the first round of the playoffs. That's about right; in a system that allows almost everyone to make the postseason, the Knights will probably welcome some completely overmatched opponent in the first round.But, Holcomb wanted to guarantee his team had its focus for this week and next — a home date with Reagan, which is currently tied with North for second in the CPC standings, and a trip to West Forsyth. Should North beat the Raiders on Friday, the Knights will head to Clemmons next week looking for another conference title. After opening CPC play with a loss at Mount Tabor, North has circled the wagons and gotten right back to doing what they do.The Reagan game is certainly a trap game for the Knights. You can't win two games (Friday and next week) without winning one game. If they look past the Raiders, they can very easily lose this week and lose any hope of a conference championship.Ledford finishes its season against the top two teams in the Mid-Piedmont Conference. If the Panthers (2-2 in the league) hope to sneak in the back door and win a title, they will have to beat Southern Guilford this week then win at North Forsyth next week. That is a tall order, especially with George Melvin gone for the year with a knee injury. But, because of that injury, Ledford is lining up linebackers Garrett Hooker and Austin Stilley in the backfield in front of Dalton Harris, and trying to grind out wins three yards at a time. It's worked the last two weeks.Whatever game you head out to Friday night, take a poncho and an umbrella. But, the mud should be cleared up a little by the time the final horn sounds.Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.